Monday, February 9, 2015

Laguna de Champayán - Alta Mira

We rode the local bus for about 40 minutes to Alta Mira and asked directions on how to get to the laguna. The traffic was so tight in the streets that walking made more sense than taking a taxi though we didn't know where we were going. When a girl assured us it was only 3 or 4 blocks away, we made our way to the laguna. Some workmen were developing an area to have nice paths and plants.

We walked around to the head of the laguna and there was a park with playground equipment and several people enjoying the sunshine or the shade.

We walked by a concession stand with boats in the water in front. We discovered an aviary and it was well kept and had some fancy birds inside including peacocks, a parrot and several white birds with fancy head dresses.

As I was trying to take a photo between the wires of a tight screen, a man working close by noticed us and opened the door so I could get a better shot of the parrot and the baby crocodile that was about 18 inches long. He said this little critter would grow to be about 10 feet long. I asked where the crocodile came from and he said “la laguna.” He said the laguna was full of crocodiles.

Paul asked about the boats and this guy said to ask and they might take us out in one of them. We went back and paid our 30 pesos each to ride in the boat

We thought we would have the boat to ourselves until 4 young adults arrived. They were happy and fun.. The driver jumped in and away we went on about a 30 minute ride around the islands in the laguna. The boat driver said there weren't many crocodiles in the laguna, the water was about 2 meters deep and it goes like for about 5 to 10 miles. We loved slowly moving along and seeing the water and wildlife and feeling the wind in our hair.